When Hans Holbein the Younger painted the Ambassadors, sometime in the 1530s, international law was a matter of personal relations and diplomatic connections. Jean de Dintville (on the left) and Georges de Selve (on the right), both in their twenties at the time, were on diplomatic missions from France to England. The great Dutch theorist of international law, Hugo Grotius had not yet been born. International commerce was the privilege of a select number of important families and associations with branches throughout Europe, and in time, the New World.

Today, international commerce and law is all around us. From the smart phones in our hands to the food on our tables, we are living in a world made by international law and commerce. It is essential for all lawyers and businesses to stay up to date with current international regimes. Today, we all live international law.

Mark I Dunaevsky, Managing Member of Foreign Service Law Office, LLC, has been helping lawyers and parties navigate international commercial law and dispute resolution for fifteen years. He holds a Juris Doctor from Northwestern University and a Diploma in International law from the University of Helsinki, and is a neutral-arbitrator with the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris, the UCSIB in New York, the Chicago International Dispute Resolution Association, and the National Futures Association in Chicago. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in London. He has served as arbitrator and as counsel-advocate in arbitrations and as counsel in litigations, both domestic and international. He is a member of the Illinois bar, and the bars of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Illinois – Chicago, School of Law where he has taught international drafting and multi-national corporations.

International law has indeed changed since Holbein the Younger painted the Ambassadors. And, the best way to stay up to date is with Foreign Service Law Office, LLC.